Prince & Ravenheart
by TheDoctorsMistress
Summary: A former Hogwarts student returns to the school to teach for a year, however nothing turns out as she expected; the class she is meant to be teaching has gone to someone else and she is confronted with the man she could never quite help but have feelings for. [Crappy summary, I know, but I'm so tired right now! ...will change it later.] Severus/OC
1. Prologue

_**AN:** So-ho-ho... to anyone who's following my story, Remembering, I apologize for not having updated in a long while. I still intend to continue the story, I've just sort of hit a brick wall on how to get from where the story is now, to where I want it to go. And also I've been working like mad on a Doctor Who story that I'll be publishing soon as well. ...and then suddenly this little thing wormed it's way into my mind as well, and the only way to get it out is by writing it down. So.. here's a Snape/OC story for you!_

_The title was inspired by the song "King and Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men, because I, yet again, find myself unable to come up with an amazing title._

_Anyway.. this first 'chapter' is merely the prologue. The story itself will NOT take place in the 70's, like the prologue, but in the 90's, with flashbacks to the 70's and 80's =) ...so without further ado - here's the story:_

* * *

**~ PROLOGUE ~**

_First Encounter_

* * *

_Friday, September 3rd, 1976_

Two days into the new school year, the sixth years had their first NEWT-level Potions class. Due to the danger of wrongly prepared potions, the Potions Master, Professor Slughorn, only allowed students to take the class, who had obtained an _Exceeds Expectations_ or _Outstanding_ in their OWL-exam. This meant a good 28 students – from all four houses – in the class.

Currently Professor Slughorn was explaining the importance of being able to work in a group when brewing potions, because not all potions could be made with the use of only two hands – not even when in possession of a wand. Without any further ado he asked the class to team up in groups of two people.

At that request Severus Snape's eyes left his copy of _Advanced Potion __Making_ for the first time. He had not been expecting that they would be working in groups – after all they never had in this class; standing at the same tables, yes, but never having to do any actual cooperation with each other. Severus pushed his long black hair out of his face to look around at his classmates – he didn't know who he'd end up with; there were only two other Slytherin students in the class, both girls, and both standing next to each other giggling away at something that he himself would most likely _not_ find amusing at all. Then he turned his gaze to his former best friend, Lily Evans – for a moment he had desperately hoped that she would be his partner in this, but she hadn't even spared him a glance, before she turned and walked over to join one of the Marauders, Remus Lupin – needless to say that the other two Marauders in this class, James Potter and Sirius Black, had teamed up; the two were practically joined at the hip – and Peter Pettigrew had only managed an _Average_ in the subject, thereby leaving Lupin as a third wheel, however clearly Lily had preferred his company to that of Severus.

"Excuse me?" A female voice broke his train of thought, and he turned to look at the female standing in front of him.

"Yes?" He inquired of the ash blonde Ravenclaw girl.

"I asked if you'd already found a partner?" She repeated herself, though Severus had apparently been too far gone in his thoughts the first time she'd asked.

"No." He replied curtly.

"So.. would you like to team up with me, perhaps?" She asked.

Severus turned his head and looked behind him, seeing several Ravenclaw-students, who didn't seem to have found a partner yet. He turned his face back towards the blonde and gave her a slightly suspicious look; "why would you want to be _my_ partner?"

The Ravenclaw girl looked slightly bemused; "why wouldn't I want to be your partner?" She asked back, raising an eyebrow at him.

"For starters; there's still several of your house mates left." Severus told her.

She looked over at the other Ravenclaw-students for a moment, before turning her attention back to the dark haired boy in front of her; "true. However non of them are as good as Potions as you are." She told him matter-of-factly.

At that Severus raised an eyebrow at her; "is that so?" He inquired.

The blonde gave a quick snort of amusement before replying; "oh, come on! You know very well that you're the best in the class at Potions."

"So that's why you want to partner with me, is it?" He asked her.

She looked at him in earnest for a moment; "it's one of the reasons." She answered cryptically.

"There are more than one?" He actually looked confused at this.

"Yes." She said and gave him a shy smile.

To the girl's surprise in stead of saying anything to her, Severus gestured to the chair next to him. She smiled brightly at him and moved to sit down, putting her bag on the desk in the process; managing to accidentally knock a few of Severus' belongings to the floor.

"Oh, Severus, I'm _so_ sorry!" She exclaimed as soon as she realised what she'd done. She quickly bend down to pick up his book and notes, before Severus could even try to do it himself. _I'm such a dolt,_ she scolded herself mentally, before she stood back up and handed the retrieved items to Severus.

"Thanks." He muttered just above a whisper. He watched in silence as the girl unpacked her own copy of _Advanced Potion Making_ as well as her quill, ink and parchment, before putting her bag beneath the desk. She started looking through her book, seemingly looking for something in particular, and Severus took a few moments to gaze at her; even though they'd been in several classes together for the past 5 years, he couldn't remember what her name was. His stubborn Slytherin pride had kept him from making the inquiry so far, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to swallow said pride and ask her. After all he couldn't just call her 'ash blonde Ravenclaw girl'.

"You're staring." The words startled Severus; her gaze hadn't left the pages of her book before or during her statement – Severus quickly looked away from her, trying to fight off the blush that seemed to be crawling up his neck towards his cheeks. "_Half-Blood Prince._" She suddenly spoke up again, her gaze still firmly planted deep within the book. "Interesting title; did you come up with that yourself or is it some kind of nickname like the _Marauders_?" She asked, drawling out the Gryffindors' title, before her eyes moved and regarded Severus.

Severus was taken aback for a moment, confused as to how she would know of his self-invented title, before realising that his Potions book must have landed open on the page where he'd written it, when it had fallen to the floor a few moments ago. "No.." he said in a low voice, "it's not a _nickname_."

"Shame." She stated before looking back on the page open in front of her, "I kind of like it."

He couldn't decide what to think of her statement; was it a compliment of some sort? Or was she merely mocking him? Had it been anyone else, he would have assumed that it was mockery, however she seemed so genuine in her statement, that Severus couldn't help but assume it was a compliment.

Once more Severus found his gaze lingering on her. He wondered why he'd never paid her enough attention to at least memorize her name – but then again aside from his house mates, Lily and those _Marauders_, he'd never paid much attention to the student body. And as for girls; to him Lily Evans had always embodied the perfect girl, so why would he bother looking at anyone else?

Severus gaze lowered and it wasn't until now he noticed the blue and bronze badge that rested on the left side of her robes. She was also a Prefect, then?

"You know, Severus.." Her voice caught him off guard once more as he quickly shifted his gaze back to her face, "I won't be insulted by the fact that you seem to not remember my name." She told him and stopped talking for a moment, probably giving him time to interject, which he didn't, "but I will be _annoyed _if you don't stop looking at me the entire time, most likely trying to recall some incident or little detail that will set off your memory – it's easier If you just ask me in stead."

Severus could feel the burning in his cheeks and there was no doubt in his mind, that his embarrassment was definitely showing on his face now – which left him thankful for not having chosen a seat in the back of the room, which would have allowed everyone, including the Marauders and Lily, to see his red cheeks.

"Fine." He muttered under his breath, before taking a somewhat deep breath and looking at the girl again. "I seem to have forgotten your name, Miss...?"

The girl smiled at him, clearly enjoying her small victory. "Alisdair." She said simply, before supplying her first name as well; "Penelope Alisdair."

"Miss Alisdair." Severus said quietly. Though the thought _'right, yes, of course, Penelope Alisdair!'_ didn't appear in his mind, he knew the name definitely rang a bell.

For the next two hours they worked on their assignment, during the time they didn't exchange many words, mostly because they seemed to have a shared understanding of how the potions they were working on were suppose to be handled.

After the class was over, Penelope thanked Severus; claiming that she had enjoyed working with him. Once more Severus found himself unable to doubt her genuineness. As she turned to leave the classroom, Severus found that he couldn't stop himself from asking a question that had been nagging him for the past two hours:

"What was the other reason?"

Penelope stopped and turned back towards him, "for me wanting to be your partner, you mean?" He nodded at her inquiry. She looked at him for a moment before giving him a cheeky smile, "if your lucky, perhaps I'll tell you one day." She answered cryptically before turning and waltzing out of the door.

Severus stood rooted in his spot for a few moments after that, considering her statement. He didn't know what to make of it – however there was now one thing he was sure of; Lily Evans was no longer the only girl on Hogwarts he found fascinating.

* * *

_**AN:** Hopefully this wasn't too horrid to read; let me know if it was._  
_I'd love to have a beta-reader - if anyone's interested, send me a PM ;)_

_Until the next one..._  
_x Karina_


	2. Chapter One

_**AN:** So.. updating took far longer than expected - I apologize profoundly for that! Funny enough though, it's been exactly a month since I posted the story =P_  
_Anyway, this chapter caused me a bit of grief, but I felt that it had to be there, or something would be missing, especially as there's actually quite a bit of info popped into this one - hard to believe, seeing as it's so short, I know.._  
_But don't fret; I'm very nearly done with chapter 2 (I've been writing them at the same time :P) and it's gonna be longer than this one (at the moment it's 700 words longer, and it's not done yet, so.. fingers crossed)_

_Anything else? Hmm.. oh, yeah - thank you so much to those of you who followed the story, added to fave or reviewed! You make me want to continue with the story! =D_

_Sooo... here we go:_

* * *

**~ Chapter One ~**

_Returning_

* * *

_Friday, August 17__th__, 1990 _

Penelope Alisdair, now thirty years old, was pacing in her hotel room. After years of travelling the world and being a journalist for the _Sunday Prophet_, she had agreed to settle down – at least for the next year – as she had said yes to the position of Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts. She'd never imagined herself being a teacher, but after the last teacher of the subject, Quirinus Quirrell, had chosen to take a year off to go travel himself, Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster at Hogwarts, had asked her to take on the job and after a lot of negotiation, Dumbledore had finally managed to persuade her.

Now however she was pacing her room having second thoughts on the decision. She was not a teacher. She feared she wouldn't have the patience to deal with children. She feared she wouldn't be good at her job, but most of all she feared that she would let Albus down. Penelope had always valued his opinion, ever since her own school days and she still talked to him regularly, and the thought of letting him down was making her heart ache.

Taking a deep breath she tried to pull herself together and continue with the last of her packing. She tried to think about the positive things she could look forward to due to her new job; she would get to spend more time with several people she really cared about: Albus, of course. Minerva McGonagall, who had been her favourite teacher during her time at Hogwarts and whom she had stayed in touch with after leaving the school. Severus.. _Oh, Severus, _she didn't know what to expect, when it came to seeing him again, so she tried her best to not worry about it now. Then of course there was the fact that she would simply be physically closer to everyone she cared about, which brought here a great amount of comfort as well.

Finally she looked around the empty room, to make sure she hadn't forgotten something, before she drew her wand and disapparated with her trunk.

* * *

~oOoOo~

* * *

Moments later she stood in front of the main gates of Hogwarts. She marvelled over the size of it – years of separation from the school, had rendered it much smaller in her memory. She took a deep breath before she began to walk up the pathway towards the doors.

As she got closer to the school, she noticed someone was stood at the doors – it didn't take her long to realize that it was the headmaster himself standing there and waiting for her to arrive.

When she reached him, he gave her a warm smile and opened his arms wide to embrace her – an embrace she was happy to return. Then he put a hand on her lower back and led her through the castle towards his office.

"Tell me, my dear," the Headmaster started, as they kept walking through the halls, "how have you been since the last time we spoke? Any changes in your life?"

"No, not really.." She replied. "Though, I've been offered this potion as a teacher." She informed in jokingly.

"Oh, I think you will make a wonderful teacher, dear." Albus chuckled and indulged her further; "I do hope you said yes to the job."

"Yes." Was her simple reply before she sighed, "though I'm starting to fear I will not be very good at it."

"On the contrary, dear; I think you will do an excellent job." Albus assured her, "I'm sure you'll find that you are a natural at teaching."

Penelope looked up him, "please don't mock me, Albus," she told him quietly.

"I would never dare to mock your fears, my dear. I am merely trying to console you by telling you my thoughts on the matter." He told her as he looked down into her eyes over his half-moon glasses.

Her cheeks flushed a bit with embarrassment, "then I appreciate it." She told him and offered a crooked smile.

They walked the rest of the short way to the Headmaster's office in a comfortable silence. Once they had arrived Albus went to sit by his desk, whilst Penelope sat her trunk by the door and went to take a seat in one of the chairs standing on the opposite site of Albus' large desk. The headmaster folded his hands on the desk in front of him and looked at Penelope over the edge of his glasses.

"Now, my dear, there has been a slight change of plans, I'm afraid," he told her.

"Oh? What kind of change?" She asked with a risen brow.

"I have found someone else to take on the position of Muggle Studies Professor." He answered. "Charity Burbage, her name is – lovely woman. She will take the position permanently, rather than the one year you were to stay here."

"So.. you don't need me after all?" She asked uncertainly, a feeling of disappointment making its way into the pit of her stomach – much to her own surprise and slight cofusion.

The Headmaster's eyes gleamed over the top of his half-moon glasses, "on the contrary, dear, I need you to take the position as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor in stead." He informed her.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts?" Penelope gaped at him; she didn't know how to react to this unexpected turn of events. "Forgive me, Albus, but.. rumour has it that the position is jinxed. As much as I would like to help you out, I don't feel comfortable having to risk my life or health for a _job_."

"Of course not and I would never ask this of you, if I thought you would be in the least bit of danger," he reassured her. "I have hired people for the position previously, under the condition that it be for one year only, and nothing have happened to any of them. And as you were always suppose to only stay here for a year, no harm should befall you."

"I'm not sure.." she hesitated.

"Nel," Albus said her nickname softly and took hold of her hand across the table, "I swear to you, I would never let any harm come to you. If there's even the slightest hint that something may happen, I won't hesitate in sending you away."

Penelope merely nodded and gave Albus a weak smile. He let go of her hand and went to a nearby cabinet to retrieve a bottle of wine and two glasses, before he returned to his seat again. Once the Headmaster had handed her the now full glass of wine, she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of it – many things could be said of Albus Dumbledore's taste in foods and drinks – not to mention sweets – but his taste in wine was _impeccable_.

For the next 30 minutes or so, the Headmaster informed her of the few changes that had been made to the rules, since her own time at the school, as well as letting her know which particularly troublesome students to look out for; namely a pair of twins in Gryffindor house, who had spend their first year causing the caretaker, Mr. Filch, quite a bit of trouble.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and the Headmaster asked whomever it was to enter:

"I apologize for the lateness, Headmaster, but I only just arrived and came as soon as I saw your message." Came a deep velvety voice from the doors. Penelope recognized it immediately.

"Don't fret, Severus, I managed to work out the problem myself." Said the Headmaster, "however seeing as you're here anyway; may I introduce you to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?" Albus gave Penelope a kind smile before he mused; "I believe the two of you are already acquainted."

Penelope drew in a deep breath before she rose from her chair and turned around to face the Potions Master. She could see the surprise in his face as soon as he recognized her.

"Hello Severus."

* * *

_**AN:** Soooo, they meet again. I wonder how that will go.. no, wait,_ I _don't;_ I_ already know what will happen! ;) eheheheh... _  
_Not the most exciting of chapters I know, but I felt that it would be strange if she just popped in and became a teacher at Hogwarts without any story of how that came to be... so there you have (had?) it.. next chapter will be a bit of re-introduction between Penelope and Severus as well as a flashback that I actually rather like!_

_Let's make a deal; if I get more than one review I promise to upload chapter 2 within a few days (I'll try to make it before the weekend is over!) ... deal? =D_


	3. Chapter Two

_**AN:** I hereby present to you the longest chapter yet!  
Somehow this ended up taking longer to upload, than I thought, which is strange cause I've only written about 200 words more than when I mention in the last chapter's AN that it was nearly done.. hmmm... my only excuse is that I had a hard time making it flow; I still don't think it does as well as it could.. perhaps revision will be in order at some point - or the help of a good beta reader; any takers? =D_

_Aaaaanyway, here comes a nice long bit of awkwardness between Severus & Penelope - not surprising really; reacquaintance can be a bitch, can't it?! =P ..also a lovely little flashback near the end; if you think it ends on a kind of cliffy, I can only say: True. ...that is because what occurs afterwards will be shared with you in another chapter ;) eheheh.._

_Thanks to all of the lovely people who decided to press_ favourite_, _alert_ and of course those who reviewed - it warms my heart! _

_Now; On with the story._

* * *

**~ Chapter Two ~**

_Chambers and Trials_

* * *

Severus felt as if time was moving in slow-motion all of a sudden. In front of him stood a woman he had never expected to lay eyes on ever again. It had been years since he had last been face to face with her, and yet she still looked exactly the same to him.

"Hello Severus." She said simply.

Her voice was exactly as he remembered it as well. He composed himself and took a few steps towards the witch, before offering her his hand to shake.

"Penelope." Was his simple way of greeting her, along with a small bow of his head.

However the witch had other ideas as she took his hand and shook it, before she leaned up towards him and laid a quick kiss on his cheek. As she stood back she let go of his hand and offered him a genuine smile instead.

"It has been too long." He found himself saying, and mentally slapped himself for doing so; he knew perfectly well the reason for it having been so long, just as he knew that he himself was to blame for it. He noticed that as soon as the words had left his mouth, the smile on her face seemed to fade, and a look of sadness took over her features.

"Yes.. it has.." she muttered in response, barely audible, and looked away.

"Severus, I have a meeting that I need to get to, I was wondering if perhaps you would show _Professor_ Alisdair to her chambers?" Albus inquired.

"Of course, Headmaster." Severus replied and bowed his head to the older man.

The Potions Master then turned towards the doors and gestured for Penelope to follow him. She quickly glanced at the Headmaster and offered him a silent goodbye, before she followed Severus out of the office.

The two professors walked through the Castle in complete silence. Penelope couldn't help but wonder if Severus felt as awkward as she herself did at this very moment. The more she thought of it, the more ridiculous this whole situation felt to her; they were adults, for Heaven's sake! They were going to work together for the next year. This wouldn't do at all, so she decided to break the silence herself:

"So, Severus..." she began, though not actually having decided on what to say, so she continued with the first thing she thought of; "how have you been?"

The Potions Master gave her a look that she couldn't quite decipher, before he replied; "fine."

The witch could already feel her annoyance at the man growing; he could at least try making an effort. So a moment later, when he actually tried to continue the conversation, she found herself quite surprised:

"And yourself?"

"Well, you know.." she mused, not really knowing what to say, "same old. Not much to tell, really."

"Hmm.." He merely said.

The two of them continued on for a while in silence, once again.

"So.. have you been working at the Ministry for all of these years?" This time Severus was the one to break the silence.

Penelope gave him a strange look, "why would you think that?" She asked confused.

"Well.. that is where you worked, the last time we..." his voice faded out, Penelope assumed this meant that he felt just as awkward about their terminated friendship as she did.

"Oh, yes.. of course," she replied, understanding why he would think that she had worked there; the last time they had talked, she had been working in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. _Clearly _someone _doesn't read the _Sunday Prophet_,_ she thought to herself; after all she had written articles in it for years, ever since she left the Ministry. "No, I quit many years ago." She told him.

"How come?" He asked.

"It got a bit tedious," she said, "actually, that's a lie; it got_ very_ tedious."

"I see." Was all he said to that statement.

Penelope wondered why he didn't ask her what she had been doing since she left the Ministry; maybe he just didn't care. So instead she turned the questioning to his own person; "what about you? Been working here for about 10 years now, haven't you?"

"Nine years, yes," He corrected her.

"Blimey, that's a long time." She uttered.

"Yes, well... time flies when you're having fun," Severus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Penelope released a somewhat amused snort, "so why stay here for so long?" She questioned.

Severus gave her a pointed look, "I'm sure my reasoning for staying here would seem _tedious_ to you," he said, repeating her own word choice from before.

A hurt look took over her features when he said that and she found herself putting a hand on his upper arm, causing him to halt and look down at her, "Severus, I would never think that of anything you have to say." She assured him in a low and very sincere voice.

The Potions Master stared at her for a moment before he replied; "well then.. perhaps one day I'll tell you," and then he turned away from her and continued walking in the direction of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower; he glanced back at her momentarily, "..if you're lucky, that is." He added with a very smug look on his face.

The pair arrived in the chambers, which were going to be Penelope's home for the next year. Severus stood by the door watching the witch as she walked through the main room, her hand tracing the top of the mantle absent mindedly. She continued to a door on the other side of the room and opened it to find a bedchamber, which held very few furniture; a wardrobe, a small sofa in front of a fireplace, which was smaller than the one in the main chamber, and a large bed – possibly the largest bed Penelope had _ever_ laid eyes on... certainly the largest bed she would ever have slept in. She walked back to the large fireplace in the main chamber and started running her fingers over the mantle once more. She let out a soft giggle.

"You know, since we left school all of those years ago, I haven't lived anywhere with a fireplace." She stated before she turned her face to look at Severus, who still stood by the door, "now I have two of them."

Severus didn't know how to reply to that – or if she even expected him to give her a reply, after all she didn't actually ask a question. So instead, after a few moments of silence, he chose to change the subject:

"Have you been in contact with your brother?"

She looked up at him, surprised by his question, "of course.. Perseus is the only family I have." She told him sadly.

"Yes." Severus said, "how is he.. coping?"

"I can't say, really.." She started out, as her face saddened even more; "some times he seems to be doing quite well, considering the circumstances. Other times I... I fear he is loosing his mind."

Severus, once again, didn't know how to respond. What does one say to a _'friend' _one hasn't spoken to for eight years, in such a situation?

Penelope suddenly found herself feeling too self-conscious; why was she telling him this? He wouldn't care about it – _he's just trying to be polite,_ she reminded herself. "I should probably.." she started out, before making an awkward gesture towards the room they were in.

Severus nodded. "If you require any other furniture, you can have a look around in the Room of Requirement," he stated, "I trust you still remember how to enter it." It wasn't a question – Severus knew she had a vivid memory.

Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, before she gave a gentle nod.

Severus looked towards the door and then back at Penelope, "I'll just.. leave you to unpack then. There's dinner in the staffroom at six thirty – or you can call for a house elf and have something brought to your chambers." He informed her, before turning around and heading out of the door.

"Thank you.. Severus." He heard her say, and glanced back, merely giving a nod of his head, before leaving her chambers and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

~oOoOo~

**** Flashback ****

* * *

_Thursday, December 3th, 1981_

Penelope was stood in the elevator, waiting for it to stop on Level Ten of the Ministry. She was on her way to her brother's trial before the Wizengamot. She knew perfectly well that he had been one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters, but she still hoped that he would not get to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban – that he could somehow convince the council that he had seen reason and left his dark path behind, before Voldemort had fallen, or that he had been under the Imperius Curse. She'd heard that some Death Eaters had been set free in exchange for turning in their former allies. However she didn't know what her brother was going to say – ever since he had been captured, she hadn't been allowed to see him or communicate with him in any way. Though she thought him cruel at times she missed him dearly – he was after all, the only family she had left.

As the elevator came to a halt, she looked up to see that she had reached the dark corridors of the Court Level. The halls were flowing with people on their way to witness the trial as well. Penelope took a deep breath before she stepped out of the now empty elevator. She looked around to see if there might be someone she knew.. someone she trusted, but she was met by doubtful and accusing stares from the surrounding witches and wizards.

She knew very well that ever since her brother's capture rumours had started to flow; speculation about whether or not she too had been working for the dark wizard – that was no unique situation; most wizards related to someone who had been accused of being a Death Eater had faced the same stares and whispers that she was now.

Suddenly a gentle hand pressed down on her shoulder from behind and she turned around to come face to face with her former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Just as it happened, she could practically feel the eyes of all the other people leaving her alone. Dumbledore gave her a gentle smile and inquired to her health. Penelope, of course, merely said she was fine considering the circumstances. The older man gently put his hand on her lower back and started guiding her towards Courtroom Ten, where the trial was to be held.

Once they'd entered the filled courtroom, Dumbledore guided her to one of the higher seats, saying that this would shield her from too many unpleasant stares. Then he sat down beside her so that once he had to go and join the Wizengamot himself, hopefully she wouldn't have to sit next to anyone.

Not long after, the trials began and much to her relief her brother was not the first Death Eater to be trialled this day – as unpleasant as this was going to be, she still preferred to have an idea of what was going to happen, so watching someone else get prosecuted first eased her distressed mind just a bit.

However she soon found that the experience of watching the prosecution of someone else – someone she'd never even met – was excruciatingly painful as well; no mercy was shown to these people whatsoever. She hadn't actually expected there to be, but knowing that her brother would face the same treatment made her insides writhe.

Suddenly the turn came to her brother and she immediately stiffened in her seat. First they made the formality of asking him if he was Perseus Angus Alisdair, which he confirmed – Penelope wondered if they might have given him Veritaserum, to make sure he didn't lie. Then the head of the council, Mr. Crouch, started listing the crimes he was accused of; use of Unforgivable Curses, violence, torture, rape, murder.. Penelope was horrified, she had never imagined that her brother had partaken in such horrible deeds as torture and rape, let alone that he had actually murdered someone. A violent sob escaped her lips and her left hand came to her face in an attempt to control herself. Suddenly something tightened around her other hand, which was resting in her lap; she looked down to see a large hand covering her own, smaller one. Her gaze followed the length of the black clad arm to see none other than Severus Snape sitting in the seat that had previously been empty. For a moment she was numbed by surprise and seemed to forget all the horrible things she had just heard about her brother, but as her mind and body once again seemed to remember the current situation, she gave Severus a questionable look. He didn't say anything, instead giving her hand a reassuring squeeze and motioning his head towards the centre of the court, where her brother was currently affirming or denying the accusations, and she quickly refocused her attention to witness the trial, feeling slightly more at ease with Severus' hand covering her own.

Much to Penelope's horror her brother didn't deny any of the accusations or say that he had acted under the Imperius Curse – in stead he claimed that he would have done the same again, even if he had known how the War would end and that it would send him to Azkaban. Penelope felt like an enormous fist was closing around her heart. It was becoming harder and harder for her to breathe. She vaguely heard when Mr. Crouch told her brother that he would be send back to Azkaban with no chance of release, to spend the rest of his life imprisoned there. Penelope's vision was blurring – she could barely breathe any more; she thought she had prepared herself mentally in case this would be how the trial turned out, but clearly she hadn't prepared well enough.

Minutes later Penelope started to regain her senses and found that she was now sitting on a bench in the completely empty corridor on Level Ten. Apparently Severus had escorted her out of the courtroom, when he saw the state she was in, without her even realising that they had been moving. She felt hollow. Empty. Ghost-like, she suspected. She vaguely registered Severus' hand resting comfortingly on her back, as she sat there staring straight ahead, without actually looking at anything. She'd heard Severus' baritone voice speaking, but she couldn't get her mind to settle on the words and actually hear what he was saying.

Suddenly a pair of eyes were in front of her and she tried for a moment to focus on them with no luck.

"Has she said anything, Severus?" Albus asked the other wizard.

"No, Headmaster." He answered, "I don't even think she realised that we left the Courtroom – I practically carried her out here."

Albus looked at Penelope with concern and then put his hand gently on her shoulder, while his other hand went to her cheek.

"Nel, can you hear me, dear?" He asked her softly, but he didn't get a respond, "Penelope?" He tried her full name in stead, but this had no effect either. Then his attention went to Severus in stead; "Severus, I'm afraid we have more trials to conduct – could you be persuaded to get Miss Alisdair home and see to it that she gets a calming potion? I shall be in touch as soon as we're done here."

"Of course, Headmaster." Severus answered and with Albus' help got Penelope up from her seat before he secured her in his arms, so they could Disapparate safely. He whispered a warning in her ear and then they were gone from the Ministry.

* * *

_**AN:** And on that cheery note the chapter comes to an end.  
I have to admit that, for some unknown reason, I'm really liking the flashback - not as much the writing as the whole situation. Perhaps knowing what has occurred before and after is the reason for that, who's to say?!_

_Anyway; I'd be happy to hear what you thought of the chapter.. and the characters? In-character enough? Mary Sue-ish female lead? Constructive criticism is always appreciated._

_Soo... I haven't actually started writing the next chapter yet, so it'll probably be at least a week before I update again (sorry!) ...buuuut I've written up this nice long timeline of everything that happens to Severus and Penelope from the time they went to Hogwarts and until after the 7th Book, to make it easier to place all the events and such (just having a big bunch of notes was confusing as hell!)._

_Oh, by-the-by; I edited the prologue a tiny bit - nothing to do with what happens in it, merely a few mistakes in the wording (accidentally called a *quill* for a *feather*) and somehow ended up writing Penelope's Prefect batch was green, when obviously it would be blue and bronze *sigh* - THAT is what happens when you write canon-knowledgy things whilst tired =P_


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